Looks like BOARDERS is using Voice Stress Technology out in AZ. Just think of the time and cost the voice stress would save the government. It’s about time this happened.

USIS signs teaming agreement with University of Arizona for development of new investigative tools

Research project to assist U.S. with winning the future on border security

FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 27, 2011 – USIS, an Altegrity company, has signed a teaming agreement with The National Center of Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS) at the University of Arizona to develop new investigative tools that will enable agencies to conduct comprehensive interviews and inquiries of current and prospective employees. The research will be conducted at the campus of the University of Arizona in partnership with USIS.

“This is an exciting opportunity for USIS,” said Bill Mixon, president and CEO of USIS. “As the nation’s largest provider of investigation services, we bring a wealth of experience to this partnership. I believe our work with the University of Arizona in this project will result in a more thorough and comprehensive screening process for those organizations that have that requirement.”

BORDERS, headquartered at the University of Arizona, is a consortium of 14 premier institutions dedicated to the development of innovative technologies, proficient processes and effective policies that help protect our nation’s borders. The Center is funded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

“We look forward to integrating our technologies with USIS’ current investigative procedures,” said Dr. Elyse Golob, executive director of BORDERS. “This partnership will give us the opportunity to use our innovations to tackle border security challenges. It will also provide our students with real-world experience in integrating technologies into the interview process.”

“This project will rapidly test and evaluate technologies to augment and enhance employee screening,” said Damon Hudson, vice president of investigative programs of USIS’s Investigative Services Division. “What makes this different from the way employee screening is being conducted now is the infusion of service enabled technology that will aid investigators in a more thorough, complete and accurate investigation.”

BORDERS researchers bring more than 30 years of experience in credibility assessment. While many detection techniques exist, ranging from physiologically-based instruments to behavioral cues, no single indicator has proven to be accurate 100 percent of the time. To respond to this challenge, BORDERS has developed computer-assisted detection tools that assist human interviewers by analyzing and tracking speech and nonverbal behavior. These techniques have shown great promise in discerning both truthful and deceptive information.

“We will utilize our extensive experience in credibility assessment technologies and validation to augment and automate the interview processes,” said Dr. Jay Nunamaker, Regents and Soldwedel professor of MIS, Computer Science, and Communication, who also serves as BORDERS director and principal investigator. “Our research has already produced many proprietary and custom-built products relevant to rapid, high-volume screening and we are already developing new applications.”

About USIS:USIS provides services under more than 100 contracts and is the largest commercial provider of background investigations to the federal government. It has more than 6,600 employees working in all 50 states and overseas. USIS offers litigation support as well as customized solutions for helping government clients manage records, information and documents. In addition, it specializes in construction surveillance services, physical/personnel/facility security and investigative analytics.

About BORDERS: The National Center for Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS) is a university-based Center of Excellence funded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, Office of University Programs. BORDERS, headquartered at the University of Arizona, was established in 2008. BORDERS conducts research on detection, sensor networks, data fusion, and immigration policy.

Look out tax payers we're being ripped off again by another psuedo Science gimmick. Our idiot government, especially Homeland Security, is a pushover for crap like this. Oh well, as long as people stay complacent they will get away with it. I fight them with everything I have but I can't do it alone.

Securing the border is so simple. Let old boys like me patrol the border. We would furnish our own guns and work for nothing. There are enough of us willing to do this that each one would have five miles of border to patrol. I assure you there would not be another Mexican cross the border to the U.S. Very simple and very cheap. Huh?? How bout it Napilatano and Obama? You are breaking us on crap like is described above.

You're just what they're looking for, a gun-toting geezer ready to shoot first and ask questions later. Get back to the retirement home grandpa and put your dentures back in. Leave the border protection to the professionals.

You're just what they're looking for, a gun-toting geezer ready to shoot first and ask questions later. Get back to the retirement home grandpa and put your dentures back in. Leave the border protection to the professionals.

So I see you hate old people along with sex offenders. It must be horrible to wake up every morning with such hatred eating away at your soul.

You Obama quacks are doing such a piss poor job of securing the border let's do it my way for a change. However, that will never happen because the more illegals that unlawfully come in here means more illegal votes for Obama and leftwing poluted-ticians. Just ask Harry Reid about getting elected by hauling loads of illegal Mexicans to Las Vegas to make sure he won. First hand knowledge of that happening.

You must have a contract to polygraph prospective agents for BP with strict instructions from Obama to weed out the good prospects and hire garbage that won't do their job. That makes you important with Washington. Huh? Mexico or any other country would shoot me or anyone else that tried to illegally inter their country. If you don't believe that, then you head is in the sand.

I may be old but I can still whip ass with fists or guns. You left wing nuts better dance while you have a dance floor because we will remove it starting next year.

If you are intelligently capable, why don't you try intelligently debating instead of being dumb and calling your opposition names. Is what we see hear the limit of your vocabulary? Must be.

You do have to understand that the whole sales discussion sounds very similar to what has been proposed as polygraph strong points. This is a way to save money and shorten the process of finding who is being truthful or not. I know that you do not pontificate or make rude remarks. If you can, please listen to the sales pitch and pretend that instead of the word "voice analysis" and "body language", we inject "polygraph."

Bill Brown,

Twoblock is opinionated but he has the right to voice his opinion, just as you do. You have to admit, your first posting after Twoblock's post was pure knee-jerk reaction without any type of intellectual thought or discussion. It kind of distracts and subtracts from your credibility when you make further presentations.

It comes down to this: the government is looking for a cheaper alternative to the polygraph. Our present day society is very accepting of "apps" to get the job done. A company creates what looks like a cheap sure fire way of using technology to enhance security for far less than it takes to make the current polygraph system work. It does not matter whether it works or not to Congress, it matters that it makes them look good for voting for it. "I am Congressman ________ and I voted for Bill 2699 which will enhance border security with technology that will not add to the budget deficit. We can now automatically screen everyone by computer for less than the previous cost of screening far less people with human operators."

I do not agree with any technology predicting the "truth." That said, they have a great selling gimmick and the polygraph community has far more to fear from their cheaper automatic programs than they do from this website.

If people believe it works, then it works for the intended purpose.

The best example I can give is the AED devices that are now common place everywhere. I can take a one day course and be certified to operate an AED. You hook the person up and the machine runs through a predefined program and make the decision for you. It take NO specialized training to operate. This is compared to the years of training it took to become a paramedic in the past. The machine is being certified to make the decisions according to a preset list of parameters that the paramedics used to use.

I am now a "Voice/Body Language" technician. I set up the listening device, I set up the camera according to preset instructions and start the program. Similar to the radar guns in police cars, I do not have to be a FCC Radar endorsed technician to operate the radar gun. I take a one day manufacturer approved course that I can use in court as proof of proficiency for the intention of issuing a ticket. The computer asks the question, analyses the results, and comes up with the analysis according to programmed parameters.

I could get a monkey to do it but the monkey wants too many bananas (satire intended, laugh with me).

It sounds too good to be true, just like polygraph exams. Congress will love it and go for it in a heart beat.

Fair Chance, nice post and I must apologize to TwoBlock if I offended him. I was not making fun of him at all, I was agreeing with him and I am elderly also. I also know some miners in Alaska and the shape their are in physically.

I understand how and why VSA systems are marketed to sound like polygraph, only cheaper. And you are exactly right that they pose a greater economic threat to polygraph than this site, because polygraph will never be abolished, as is the stated goal of this site, but it will surely, at some point, be replaced by a more advanced technology.

You don't like technology predicting the truth. I understand your discomfort, but some technique will be used because there are instances where any improvement over chance could prove useful.

The polygraph techniques are interviews and interrogations accompanied by physical recordings. An interrogator, a person, will always be necessary to interview and question the subject, to discuss and clarify the issue to be addressed and to formulate proper questions. (only my humble opinion)

The voice stress technologies are not new, they have been around longer than I have been in polygraph. They are not the future because there are no favorable peer reviewed studies to support them.

Clifton, or polyvsa, comes on the board from time to time to promote vsa with ancedotal evidence but never cites scientific studies.

How about it Cliff? We are still waiting.

No good social purpose can be served by inventing ways of beating the lie detector or deceiving polygraphers. David Thoreson Lykken